Conserving water starts in the front yard.

Conserving water starts in the front yard.

The Green Builder VISION House Orlando 2008, built as a model of natural resource preservation, installed drought-tolerant EMPIRE Turf™ throughout the property. EMPIRE was selected because of its ability to reduce landscape water usage.

“Water conservation has become priority number one in Florida and really the entire Southeastern United States,” said Keith Truenow, owner of Lake Jem Farms in Mt. Dora, Florida. “VISION House needed a turf variety that was environmentally friendly; a grass that could handle itself in drought conditions. It needed to look good and have all the other properties a homeowner wants, like less mowing and less overall maintenance. EMPIRE Turf was a perfect fit.”

EMPIRE Turf is a medium-bladed, dark-green zoysiagrass with a much lower water consumption rate than Florida’s common St. Augustinegrass. It features excellent wear tolerance, requires less mowing and chemical applications and is chinch bug resistant. More importantly, EMPIRE Turf allows the water supply to be shut off in severe periods of drought without the danger of permanently harming the lawn.

These traits made EMPIRE Turf a perfect companion for the Orlando VISION House. The purpose of the house is to demonstrate green building design, inside and out. From natural products and materials to renewable resources, the house is a model of environmental awareness following the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Building ideals.

EMPIRE’s water-saving qualities are being backed up by independent research. In a resent study done by the San Antonio Water System (SAWS), EMPIRE Turf was put into a 60 day drought simulator with other turfgrasses and was rated the top zoysiagrass for drought recovery.

While research stands behind EMPIRE’s performance, often times the best test is real-world applications. EMPIRE Turf has been specified in major developments across the state of Florida for its practical advantages. The Villages and Ginn Reunion Resort chose to go with EMPIRE in an effort to stay on the forefront on environmentally friendly landscaping.

Sod Solutions, Inc., the developer of EMPIRE Turf, is an international turfgrass development company incorporated in the early 90s. The company’s primary research facility and headquarters is located near Charleston, S.C. Sod Solutions TM has developed and released Palmetto St. Augustine®, EMPIRE Turf TM, Celebration BermudagrassTM, Sapphire St. AugustineTM and Bella BluegrassTM. For more information, visit www.sodsolutions.com or call 843.849.1288.